50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Beat the crowds and go in winter or early spring and layer, layer, layer!
Kruger was never actually on my Wishlist. Over the last 15 years I've travelled to several different areas in Africa - Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. 'Kruger' is the place that everyone asks about - 'have you been there'? I'm not a big fan of the tourist pathways and have gone along the volunteering route to experience a different side. A side that I love.
Having said that, I was actually volunteering at The Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, which is in the general vicinity of Kruger National Park. We were given an opportunity to visit Kruger on a day trip. Seeing that I was so close, I decided to see it for myself.
We left before sunrise in an open safari vehicle. The sides were up so the breeze was quite chilly. Our driver stopped so we could get pictures of the beautiful sunrise. Entering at Orpen Gate, we stopped for breakfast. Shortly after we found a leopard at the side of the road, relaxing. Eventually he got up and left. Two rhinos were spotted in the distance but we couldn't see them well without binoculars. A leopard tortoise also reposed in the middle of the road. He was a big specimen!
Elephants, lions and lionesses, zebras, kudu, wildebeests, impalas, nyala, waterbuck, giraffes, the usual parade were on view. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a lioness walking near to the road (our guide had missed her). We were the only vehicle around so had a good chance to follow and observe her without other cars. The best sighting was a group of spotted dogs, reclining in the shade. At the most there were 6-7 vehicles at a sighting at any one time.
Lunch at Satara Camp and time for souvenir shopping before the afternoon drive. By this time it was quite warm. Our group enjoyed the day and were happy to sit and watch the animals, rather than race around to see how many we could find. The safari guide was very compliant with our requests. Another stop at the Orpen Gate souvenir shop for anything we missed and a 'comfort stop' before heading back home.
If you want to see Kruger I'd recommend going in a low season to avoid crowds (unless that's your "thing"). More space for all to see and breathe!
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adventure and fun!
The safari itself was a good experience, we lived the african experience deep and we enjoyed it. We would have liked another kind of timetable for meals, because we had lunch at 10 am and dinner and 20, so that means a lot of time without eating. Despite this detail, the safari was great, we saw many species and took awesome pictures. the volunteering program was the best of all, both medical and orphanage programs are a great , life-changing experience.
AE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
8 Days Samburu | Aberdares | Lake Nakuru | Lake Naivasha | Masai Mara
The 8-day safari with Africa Holiday Tours was simply everything I had expected it to be. The driver/guide was very knowledgeable and accommodating, and the experience was fantastic. It was exactly what I had negotiated with the company, a budget safari leading to upscale. I would highly recommend Africa Holiday Tours.
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wildlife galore
We flew from London to Hoedspruit via Johannesburg and picked up a hire car (a 2*4 SUV) at Hoedspruit. We drove to Satara via the Orpen gate and stayed in Satara for 4 nights.
The standard chalet that we had was simple, but clean and had everything we needed. The fridge, kettle, toaster and microwave enabled us to have a good breakfast before driving out on safari each day.
We took a packed lunch with us each day, because the long drives meant that it was too far to return to Satara in the middle of the day. In the evening we ate in the restaurant which had good, filling food at a reasonable price.
The weather started quite cool and I began to wonder if it had been a mistake not to bring a coat, but luckily it warmed up as the days passed. There was one cloudy day, the rest were sunny with some lovely sunrises and sunsets.
On the way in we drove on the H7 to Satara and on the way out we took the Rabelais loop back to Orpen.
On our three full days, we drove the s100 - s41 - h6 loop twice and the s40 - s60 - s39 - s36 - s126 - h1-3 route once.
Driving ourselves meant that we could spend as long as we wanted when we saw something interesting and we stopped frequently. We didn't feel that the park was too crowded, even though Satara is quite a big camp. At most animal sightings there were only 1 or 2 other vehicles present, while at bird sightings we were normally the only vehicle present.
We enjoyed the Sweni bird hide because there was always something happening. We spent a couple of hours there, on each of our s100 days, watching the crocodiles, hippos and all the bird life.
At the Sweni waterhole on the s126 we saw large numbers of elephants (100+) coming to drink in the evening.
One evening we joined a guided tour run from Satara. It turned into a long drive along the S100 to a reported leopard sighting, but was worth it as we had superb views of a leopard resting in a tree as the sun went down.
We saw all the animals that we hoped to see, plus lots more, with the exception of rhinoceros. The commonest sightings were impala, elephant, giraffe, zebra, kudu and wildebeest, plus lots of birds.
The highlights were the leopard sighting mentioned previously, the elephant and giraffe that walked right past us while we were sat in our car having lunch, the kingfisher slapping a fish on a branch to kill it, the lilac breasted rollers, the martial eagle and many others.
We thoroughly enjoyed our four days self driving in the Kruger, but it was a pleasant change to be driven on guided safaris for the remaining 6 days of our trip in the Sabie Sands and Klasserie reserves.
IN
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A great12 day tour arranged by Trevaron Tours
Ours was a 12 day tour arranged by Hannah of Trevaron Tours in September 2013. She was there to received us at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and personally guided us to the Safari Park Hotel for our first night in Kenya. From there Simon, our capable and affable guide and driver for the next 11 days took over - Masai Mara ( Serena Lodge) for 4 days, Lake Nakuru Lodge, Mt. Kenya National Park Mountain Lodge, Samburu Game Park Lodge and our last night at the Mt. Kenya Safari Club. The game lodges that were arranged for us were excellent and the wild life viewing was great except for lake Nakuru where due excessive flooding, the alkaline nature of the lake had changed resulting in the flamingos flying to other alkaline lakes. We went on to Lake Bagoria where we did see some flamingos but not in such great numbers as we had seen on a previous visit to Kenya. Our visit to Kenya in September was dictated by non availability of accommodation in the Mara in August. We did see the end of the great migration but the best time would be August, to be there in the middle of it. So book early.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Addo Elephant National Park by Thomas Smith
Lots of elephants! Otherwise there was not so much on offer for us. Still worth a visit though.
AE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a great experience. Definitely worth experiencing!
Our trip was well organized by Mr. David, from start to finish. He always replied by emails
and lived up to our expectations. Our guide Mr. Gibson was knowledgeable, punctual and cooperative.
Overall, we enjoyed the safari and highly appreciate his service.
Wonderful Kenya Safari Experience
We are an expatriate family living and working in Uganda.We were referred by a friend who had used this company. We booked a private tour just for the two of us to Samburu, Lake Nakuru and Amboseli. We were given a reasonable deal and our designated driver guide went out of the way to make sure we were happy. The company also planned a surprise birthday gift at our lodge in Samburu. The entire safari was professionallly organised and executed. We recommend this company to any potential Kenya safari seeker.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 days 4 nights private Safari in Selous Game Reserve and Mikumi National Park
We booked with Usambara Expeditions a couple of months before our trip in July. The communication was ok from the start and we booked a private safari with Alex - the owner of the company. We paid 30% deposit upfront and got confirmation on receipt of the money. We got picked up at our hotel on the morning of the safari and were introduced to our guide Afra who spent the whole 5 days with us. He is very knowledgable and explained a lot to us during the tour. We felt really lucky to have such good company and couldn't fault him in any way. We decided for a budget safari and stayed in two different cottages in the parks which were both absolutely fine and the food was good in both. The game drives in Selous Game Reserve were our highlight as you can go off-road to look for the animals whereas you have to stay on the roads in any National Park. We saw all the animals we were hoping to see and Afra wouldn't give up until we had seen it all :) I would definately recommend Usambara Expeditions. The only reason why I haven't given a 5 star rating is that the communication before the trip could have been more pro-active and responses could have been quicker - however, having been in 'the bush' now I understand that having access to mobile reception and internet access can sometimes take a couple of days. Thank you for a very memorable time!
PH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip indeed!
After careful considerations between different operators, my friend and I decided to go with Maturaf as he provided the best rates with the most amazing choices in accommodations. Although there were small lapses during communications while working on the itinerary, Maturaf had been very cooperative working on our requests. The guide that he sent us named Peter was also amazing. He was as well cooperative and made things work all throughout the Safari trip. Except for the rhino, we saw the rest of the Big Five and made close encounters with a bunch of lions.
The safari accommodations were great. We stayed in Zawadi House in Arusha upon arrival, Lake Burunge and Serengeti Kati Kati tented camps, Serena Hotels in Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro, and Tloma Lodge. We visited Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti National Parks.
The Zanzibar accommodations we stayed in were also amazing although personally, we prefer La Gemma dell'Est over Hideaway of Nungwi as it provided guests activities that they can join in such as beach soccer, water polo and beach volleyball. La Gemma dell'Est for me is more family-oriented but the facilities in Hideaway of Nungwi are more luxurious, as well as the food spread in their buffets are better. We stayed 2 nights each in both hotels.
The only downside, as my friend has been pointing out the whole trip, was that most of these accommodations failed to "sell/market" local cuisine but rather serve the usual intercontinental dishes.
Overall, the experience was amazing and proud to say this trip checked two places/activities in my bucketlist.
I highly recommend this team. KUDOS to Matural, Peter and the rest of Regional Tours!